Typically, when studying foreign language The focus is on vocabulary, phonetics and grammar. And it is right. But don’t forget about punctuation – the placement of punctuation marks. After all, there are times when you need, for example, to write a letter to a foreign friend or an official appeal to the embassy. A person who knows how to write correctly always makes a more pleasant impression. What are the features of punctuation in the Spanish language?
Punctuation marks in Spanish serve 2 functions:
- logical division of a sentence or phrase into parts, which allows you to better understand the meaning of what is written;
- the emotional orientation of an entire sentence or a separate part of it, and sometimes even one word (we’ll look at how this is later).
Question (Signo de interrogación) and exclamation (Signo de admiración) marks
The most interesting and unique in the Spanish language are interrogative and Exclamation point. They are used with the same purpose as in the Russian language: giving the sentence the intonation of a question or an exclamation, respectively.
But the Spaniards are so emotional that they immediately need to know with what intonation to pronounce this or that phrase. Therefore, question marks and exclamation marks are placed not only at the end, but also at the beginning of the sentence. Moreover, at the beginning of the sentence inverted: “¿”, “¡”
For example:
¿Quién es Juan? -Who is Juan?
¿Ha salido a la calle? - Went outside?
¡Vamos a la playa! - Let's go to the beach!
¡Feliz cumpleaños! – Have a good day birth!
In Spanish, it is also allowed to put a question or exclamation mark in the middle of a sentence in order to highlight not the entire phrase, but only a part, with the appropriate intonation.
For example:
Voy a comprar algunos regalos ¿pero dónde? – I want to buy gifts, but where?
Se veían algunas casuchas pequeñas y ¿eso se llamaba una ciudad? - There were some small houses there, and it was called a city?
Juan se fue al teatro, pero¡no había tomado consigo las entradas! – Juan went to the theater, but didn’t take tickets!
José fue a ver María pero ¡Dios mío! su paraguas se quedó en casa – Jose went to Maria, and, oh my God, his umbrella was left at home.
Also, if the question word is not at the very beginning of the sentence, then question mark placed directly next to it. And in this case, the question word should not be written with a capital letter.
For example:
Antonio, what do you think? - Antonio, when will we arrive?
Mi querido, ¿por qué no me lo digiste? - My dear, why didn’t you tell me this?
Using a period (Punto final)
As in Russian, a period is placed at the end of each complete affirmative or negative sentence. She talks about the end of logical thought.
For example:
Me llamo Angel. - My name is Angel.
Voy a estudiar con vosotros. - I will study with you.
Soy de Moscú. - I am from Moscow.
Por favor, no me molesten. - Please don't bother me.
Comma in Spanish (Coma)
1) The first rule of using a comma in Spanish is no different from the native Russian language. A comma is placed if the sentence lists homogeneous members of the sentence without a conjunction or the same conjunction is used.
For example:
Mama ha traído las naranjas, las manzanas, las mandarinas, los plátanos. – Mom brought oranges, apples, tangerines and bananas.
Tengo que invitar todos los amigos, los primos, los padres. – I have to invite all my friends, cousins and parents.
No me gusta leer libros, escuchar música. – I don’t like reading books or listening to music.
A comma is not placed if homogeneous members of the sentence are connected by a conjunction.
For example:
Pedía traer los platos y las tazas, no las cucharas. “I asked you to bring plates and cups, not spoons.”
Prefieres trabajar en la escuela y ayudar a mama. – You prefer to work at school and help your mother.
2) A comma always stands out when addressing a person. It doesn’t matter whether they are addressed by name (Maria, Ignacio) or using a respectful form (Señor, Señora).
For example:
Pedro, no comas las frutas, prueba mi tarta. – Pedro, don’t eat the fruit, try my cake.
Oye, querido, no es verdad y no trates de convencerme. “Listen, dear, it’s not true, and don’t try to convince me.”
3) The clarification is highlighted on both sides by commas (the same as in Russian).
For example:
El señor Álvarez, mi amigo, es una persona muy inteligente. – Señor Alvarez, my friend, is a very smart man.
4) Commas highlight introductory words and phrases. The most commonly used of them are: además (in addition), ahora bien (however), a pesar de (in spite of), efectivamente (indeed), en consecuencia (as a consequence), en efecto (indeed), en fin (in the end ), en resumen (in the end), finalmente (in the end), no obstante (nevertheless), por el contrario (on the contrary), por lo demás (however), por otra parte (on the other hand), por supuesto ( of course), por último (eventually), pues bien (okay), sin embargo (surely, of course).
Introductory words and expressions are separated by commas, even if they are accompanied by question marks or exclamation marks.
For example:
A pesar de sus defectos, era querido por todos. “Despite his shortcomings, everyone loved him.”
Y de este modo, ¡sabes! , podemos conseguirlo todo. “And this way, you know, we can achieve anything.”
Finalmente, hemos llegado. - Finally, we have arrived.
No quiero molestarte, por el contrario, quiero ayudarte. “I don’t want to disturb you, but on the contrary, I want to help.”
5) A comma is also needed in cases where it is necessary to highlight gerundial, participial or infinitive phrases.
For example:
Al dar los primeros pasos, he sentido el decaimiento de mis fuerzas físicas – Having taken my first steps, I felt a loss of strength.
6) In some cases, isolated adjectives and participles are also separated by commas:
He llegado a mi casa, cansado, pero feliz. – I came home, tired but happy.
7) A comma is used to separate non-union compound sentences:
No puedo ir al teatro hoy, mi madre está enferma. – I can’t go to the theater today, my mother is sick.
8) In complex sentences connected by conjunctions, the comma may be omitted or placed before the conjunction. Spanish grammar does not have precise rules on this matter. Grammarians recommend putting a comma before the conjunctions y, o, ni, pero, mas, if the independent clauses are not closely related in meaning, or if they are quite common:
Los zapatos estaban en el suelo, y la camisa colgaba del respaldar de la silla. “The slippers were on the floor and the shirt was hanging on the chair.
América Latina tiene muchos problemas, que tienen que resolver rápidamente. – Latin America has many problems that need to be solved quickly.
Tenga la bondad de mandar el paquete al hotel, yo quiero pasear un poco. – Please, send the package to the hotel, I want to take a little walk.
Semicolon (Punto y coma)
The placement of this punctuation mark coincides in most cases with the rules of the Russian language: it is placed in a non-union compound sentence if
a) its parts carry different information
For example:
Han pasado dos días; El rey se encuentra en su cámara más hosco que nunca. - So two days passed; the king was in his chambers and more gloomy than ever.
b) if parts of the sentence are distributed due to homogeneous members or phrases
For example:
Veo los toros, corren allá y atrás; La gente trataba de tranquilizarlos, sin mostrar la agitación. – I saw bulls running back and forth; people, without showing excitement, tried to calm them down.
Also, the use of a semicolon is mandatory if a common sentence is introduced by the conjunctions mas, pero, aunque, sin embargo, no obstante
For example:
Pero mi tío llegó al notar con cuánta admiración se observaba; pero yo bien comprendí que era de burla. “But my uncle arrived and noticed how well he was received; but I knew that these were ridicule.
Colon (Dos puntos)
1) After a generalizing conjunction before homogeneous members offers:
Sus subordinados llegaban: cuatro hombres y ocho gatos. (His subordinates arrived: 4 men and 8 cats).
2) Before a sentence that explains the content of the previous one:
El escribiente, obedeciendo, salió y volvió acompañado de un señor algo calvo, grueso y muy canoso: era el oficial. (Having submitted, the secretary left, but soon returned accompanied by a slightly bald, fat and gray-haired lord: he was an official).
3) After the following expressions a saber (that is; namely), como sigue (as the following), por ejemplo (for example), verbigracia (for example):
Los animales se dividen en seis clases, a saber: cuadrúpedos, peces, aves, etc. (Animals are divided into 6 classes, namely: quadrupeds, fish, birds and so on).
4) In official documents after the following words considerando (considering), resultando (therefore), resuelto (decided):
Considerando: Que el artículo 193 del reglamento establece (Considering that article 193 establishes...)
5) B personal letters after contact:
Querido tío y venerado maestro: He recibido su carta (Dear uncle and respected teacher: I received your letter).
In direct speech, after words that introduce direct speech:
Su voz fue un susurro: “Sí, mi hijo.” Sí, para ti.” “You said in a whisper: “Yes, my son, yes, for you.”
Ellipsis (Puntos suspensivos)
Used when presenting incomplete information or when some information is missing (in quotes, for example).
If there is a question or exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, the ellipsis is retained in its entirety.
For example:
Tuyo es... de balde - Yours... is broken.
Éste nos dice lo siguiente: “...y también las conquistas logradas por los deportistas...” - This pointed us to the following “... and also to the awards that the athletes won...”
Parentheses (Parentesis)
Usually phrases, introductory sentences, numbers, and dates are placed in brackets. The contents of the parentheses explain or complement the meaning of everything previously said. Here there is a complete coincidence with the rules of the Russian language.
For example:
El tren número 65 (no es precise nombrar la línea) se detuvo en la pequeña estación. – Train number 65 (no need to name the line) was delayed at a small station.
Quotes (Comillas)
By using quotation marks, you can immediately remember the Russian language. They are placed: in cases of quoting someone’s thoughts; indicating the title of a book, newspaper, magazine, diploma, article...; if the author used a word not in the meaning in which it is given in the dictionary, slang words, archaisms.
For example:
Rulo lee "El País". – Rouleau reads “El Pais.”
Allí se albergaban los vagos crónicos, los borrachos, los llamados “crotos.”
Inveterate tramps settled there; drunkards call them “krotos”.
Dash (Guion mayor)
Placing a dash is necessary when conveying direct speech and when including explanatory phrases in a sentence (this situation is similar to the use of parentheses).
For example:
– Me quedaré aquí un momento - ¿y tú? (I'll stay a little. And you?)
- También me quedo. (I'll stay too).
Cuba – es un país caluroso. (Cuba is a hot country).
Incorrectly placed punctuation marks can change the meaning of a sentence and even everything previously written. The information in this lesson will help you express your thoughts in writing more accurately and avoid misunderstandings with Spanish people.
In Russian grammar it is not customary to use an inverted question mark. However, for the Spanish language this symbol is quite important, as is the inverted exclamation point. They place it at the beginning of a question sentence and it is an intensifying addition to the question mark traditional in all languages. However, it may not have any connection at all with the main question mark; it all depends on how to place the intonation in Spanish. And a certain number of the first words in a sentence may be in question. In addition, an inverted question mark can be used not only at the end or beginning of a sentence, it can even be placed in the middle of a phrase. Immediately before the question word.- A question mark inverted vertically, that is, a hook on the bottom and a dot on top, is used in Church Slavonic and Greek languages.
- A question mark turned 180° horizontally (the hook is turned in the opposite direction) is used in Arabic.
- Inverted question mark applied in Windows OS, because in this operating system It is forbidden to use a regular question mark.
Many probably wondered and could not find the answer, probably carefully studying their keyboard more than once or twice in search of this symbol, but alas, it was not provided for there. But don’t worry, because the OS developers have provided for writing many different characters that do not fit on the keyboard.
There is a keyboard shortcut to write an inverted question mark. You should click on the " ALT"and holding it, dial the next digital combination" 0191
". ¿
Before doing this, change the keyboard layout to English.
Why are inverted question marks and exclamation marks used?
This page needs significant revision. It may need to be Wikified, expanded, or rewritten. |
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Characteristics |
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Name |
¿
: inverted question mark |
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Unicode |
¿
: U+00BF |
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HTML code |
¿
: ¿
or ¿
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¿
: 0xBF |
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URL code |
¿
: %C2%BF |
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Reversed interrogative (¿ ) And Exclamation point (¡ ) - punctuation marks, which begin, respectively, interrogative and exclamatory sentences in writing in some languages, for example, Spanish, Greek and Church Slavonic.
In Spanish they are called: inverted interrogative ( signos de interrogación) and exclamation point ( signos de exclamacion).
Usage
Inverted question marks and exclamation marks are used before the first letter of a question sentence.
Second edition of the Ortografía de la lengua castellana (1754), the inverted question mark and exclamation mark are recommended to indicate the beginning of a question and an exclamation, respectively [ ] . However, these rules slowly came into use [ ] . There are books from the 19th century [ which?] , where these characters were not used when typing.
They can also be combined in several ways to express a combination of questioning and surprise or disbelief. Initial marks are usually reflected at the end of sentences with the usual question marks and exclamation marks (?, !), which are used in most languages of European origin. It should also be noted that inverted characters are placed below normal ones, that is, they extend beyond the bottom line of the line. In the Spanish language, inverted question marks and exclamation marks appeared only in the middle of the 18th century, but they did not become widespread immediately. At the moment, under the influence of the English language, there is a reverse tendency - to put signs only at the end. Inverted signs were first proposed by the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (Spanish). Real Academia Española ) in 1754 and adopted over the next century.
In computers, inverted characters are supported by various standards, including ISO 8859-1, Unicode, and HTML. They can be set directly from keyboards intended for use in Spanish-speaking countries or via alternative methods on other keyboards.
Some writers do not use these characters for short sentences. The same rule applies to the Catalan language.
Laureate Nobel Prize Pablo Neruda refused to use an inverted question mark.
When corresponding on the Internet, correspondents can omit upside down characters to save typing time.
Story
Inverted question marks and exclamation marks are widely used in Spanish and occasionally in some others of related origin, such as old standard Galician (now acceptable but not recommended) or Catalan, as well as Varayan and Asturian. In Spanish they are called inverted interrogative ( signos de interrogación) and exclamation point ( signos de exclamacion). In Spanish, when writing, question marks and exclamation marks are placed both at the end and at the beginning of a sentence: only at the beginning these marks are “upside down”
Inverted question marks and exclamation marks are not found in Russian. But they are actively practiced in Spanish. Of course, those who study this language should know how and why to use them. And you and I will simply find out where the inverted exclamation and question marks came from and what they are needed for.
A little history
The inverted question mark, called signos de interrogacion in Spanish, and the inverted exclamation mark, called signos de exclamacion, have quite an interesting history.
And we will start from afar. The first question symbol was depicted in a copy of the Bible in Syria, which dates back to the 5th century. But he didn’t look like himself. The question of that time was recognized as a double point. It was placed not only at the end, but also at the very beginning of the interrogative sentence.
If you pick up ancient works written in ancient Hebrew or ancient Arabic, you will find that there are no punctuation marks. There is no exact evidence that the question mark came to these languages from the Syriac language. Most likely, it appeared on its own.
Interestingly, in Greece there is no question mark that we are used to. Here it is replaced only by a period, under which a comma is placed.
In the form in which we know the question mark today, it appeared only in the 16th century. And it turned out from two letters - the first and the last - the word “quaestio”, which translates as “question”. Moreover, initially the question mark looked like the letter “o”, at the top of which the letter “q” was written. Over time, these two letters became the question mark as we know it today.
How did inverted punctuation appear in Spain?
But in Spanish writing, inverted question marks and exclamation marks were introduced intentionally. This event took place in 1754 and was done by the Spanish Royal Academy.
Since then, all Spaniards simply cannot imagine books, newspapers and magazines without their inverted exclamation and question marks. They are incredibly comfortable for them. And the Spaniards themselves do not understand why other nations do not use inverted punctuation marks in writing.
This allows you to see in advance whether you are about to read an exclamatory or interrogative sentence. This means you will pronounce it with the necessary intonation from the very beginning.
Inverted question mark. Example sentences
Let us repeat - in Spanish, the usual punctuation mark is placed at the end of the sentence, in in this case question. But at the beginning this sign will be upside down.
As an example, a few sentences:
- ¿Qué día de la semana es hoy? - What day is today?
- Alberto ¿cuántos años tienes? — Alberto, how old are you?
- ¿On salido a la calle? What's the point? What's the portal? ¿en donde?
- Ernesto supo que aquel tiempo vendría, pero ¿cuando?
There are some rules to remember. So, for example, if the question word is not at the beginning of the sentence, but the address is first, then an inverted question mark is placed after the address, but before the question word. As an example, take the second sentence above.
If you ask several questions at once, then only the first of them begins with a capital letter. Further capital letter not used. But inverted questions are a must. An example is the third sentence.
Inverted exclamation mark. Examples
The exclamation mark, like the question mark, is first placed upside down, and at the end of the sentence - as usual for us.
The phrase is pronounced with an exclamatory intonation. As an example - ¡pase lo que pase! Translation - where ours did not disappear.
If you need to express an interrogative sentence with exclamatory intonation, then an inverted question mark is placed first, and an exclamation mark at the end. Example - ¿De donde vienes, ingrato! Translation - Where are you from, ungrateful!
Here's another example: what are you doing?! In Spanish it will look like this: ¡¿Qué haces?!
In the 19th century, attempts were made to introduce inverted question marks and exclamation marks into the Portuguese language. But they didn’t take root there. I wonder if we would use these signs if we were also offered to use them?
From the Spanish Wiki:
| El signo de interrogación es un signo de puntuación que denota una pregunta. Su origen se encuentra en el latín. La palabra "cuestión" viene del latín questio, o "pregunta", abreviado como "Qo". Esta abreviación se transformó en el signo de interrogación. | A question mark indicates a question. It arose from the Latin word " Questio" - question. At the end of each interrogative sentence it was written abbreviated: Qo. This contraction then turned into a ligature - a question mark. |
| En la mayoría de los idiomas se utiliza un único signo de interrogación al final de la frase interrogativa: How old are you? (inglés; en español “¿Cuántos años tienes?”). Este fue el uso habitual también en español, hasta mucho después de que la segunda edición de la Ortografía de la Real Academia, en 1754, declarase preceptivo iniciar las preguntas con el signo de apertura de interrogación invertido (¿), y terminarlas con el signo de interrogación ya existente (?) (“¿Cuántos años tienes?”) al tiempo que se ordenaba lo mismo para los signos de exclamación (¡) y (!). La adopción fue lenta, y se encuentran libros, incluso del siglo XIX, que no utilizan tales signos de apertura. Finalmente se generalizó, seguramente debido a que la sintaxis del español no ayuda en muchos casos a deducir en qué momento se inicia la frase interrogativa, como pasa en otros idiomas. | In most languages, a question mark is only placed at the end of a sentence. In Russian: “How old are you?”, in Spanish: “"Cuántos años tienes?" At first, there was only one question mark in Spanish. Only in the second edition of Spelling, published by the Royal Academy of Languages in 1754, was it prescribed to begin interrogative sentences with a question mark, only inverted:"¿", and end with the usual one.Same with the exclamation mark. However, for a long time many did not follow this rule. Even in XIX century, some books did not use the initial inverted question marks and exclamation marks. In the end, this custom prevailed, apparently due to the peculiarities of Spanish syntax, unlike other languages, which does not always allow one to guess where exactly the interrogative part of a complex phrase begins. |
| Una variante que no llegó a generalizarse fue la de utilizar la apertura sólo cuando el enunciado fuera largo, o con riesgo de ambigüedad, pero no para las frases breves y claramente interrogativas, como “Quién vive?” La influencia del inglés está haciendo retornar este viejo criterio. Incluso es común que en las salas de chat o conversaciones en línea en español se use solamente el signo (?) para preguntar, ya que ahorra tiempo al momento de presionar las teclas. Esto podría no tener gran importancia debido a que se está utilizando en conversaciones informales. | For a long time, it was customary to put initial inverted signs only in long sentences in order to exclude the possibility of their ambiguous interpretation, but not in simple questions, like “Who lives here?” Now, under the influence of the English language, this old custom is returning. And in chats and ICQs, for the sake of speed, they often use only one question mark at the end. After all, in informal dialogues this is not a problem. |
Until the end of the 15th century, texts in Russian were written either without spaces between words, or were divided into undivided segments. Around the 1480s, the period appeared, and in the 1520s, the comma. The semicolon, which appeared later, was initially also used to mean a question mark. The next punctuation marks were question marks and exclamation marks.
By the end of the 18th century, the use of dashes began to be used (Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was the first to use it)...
My comment:
Double question marks and exclamation marks in Spanish are a historical accident, such as the initiative (2005) of some figure from the Institute of Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences to simplify spelling: write the word “parachute” with “y”, and past participles of the perfect form (such as “made” ") - with one "n". Maybe he wanted to become famous throughout the centuries, maybe he wanted to advance in his career. It is a historical accident that (yet!) his dreams have not come true. But his Spanish colleague, who lived in the 18th century, was unlucky. So that is all!!!